Flying Taxis Are Finally Nearing Takeoff

One of the biggest staples of science fiction, the flying car, could soon be taking to the skies. The only question is this: Which country will get there first?

Advanced air mobility (AAM), which most people will understand as a taxi capable of takeoff and flight similar to a helicopter, is approaching the final stages of testing and certification in China and the United States.

With the tech contest between the two countries reaching new heights under the Trump administration, Newsweek spoke to industry leaders to establish how close the U.S. was to takeoff.

The Context

At the end of March, Chinese authorities issued air operator certificates to two major players, EHang Holdings and Hefei Hey Airlines, granting them the ability to run unmanned passenger drones—autonomous aerial vehicles (AAVs)—in the country. The Civil Aviation Administration of China has been making major pushes for what it calls "low-altitude aviation innovations," backed by its government.

What To Know

U.S. industry leaders are aware of the developments in China but are focused on doing things right, experts said.

"We monitor it, but because the regulatory approach is so different, it's very hard to compare," Eric Allison, chief product officer at Joby Aviation, told Newsweek, highlighting the differences between American and Chinese approaches to the development process.

"There is a difference between how China is certifying this type of vehicle. That's a very important distinction from a regulatory standpoint for how the global landscape is playing out."

Newsweek reached out to the Chinese Ministry of Transport for comment.

All U.S. companies working in the industry collaborate closely with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which is responsible for issuing the certificates needed to both develop and operate AAMs. Many other countries take their cues from the FAA's guidance, making the U.S. approach to flying taxis the benchmark for development across the world.

"The Federal Aviation [Administration] has historically been the gold standard for this certification," Allison said. "And we do see that continuing in this space. A lot of other countries around the world have signed up or are aligning their approach to certification on these different vehicles with what the FAA is doing."

Joby told Newsweek that they are currently midway through the fourth stage of five in a certification process with the FAA, which requires running tests on every single component of the aircraft. Results of the tests, which require flight, will be submitted to the administration in stage five.

The company, which already has partnerships with ride-hailing app Uber in preparation for an aerial ride-sharing service, has plans for a five-seat vehicle that travels at speeds of up to 200 miles an hour between "vertiports," the industry term for landing and takeoff sites used by AAMs.

However, one seat will be allocated for a pilot—a move that other companies have opted away from in place of a fully autonomous system.

Allison said: "We believe that the fastest way to get to market is to do it with a commercially licensed pilot. There's not really clarity from the FAA right now on how you certify autonomous passenger-carrying vehicle."

The autonomous approach is being used in the AAMs designed by fellow industry leaders Wisk Aero, whose Generation 6 model, which also seats four passengers, will be monitored individually by an operations center, rather than having a pilot.

Wisk described its model—which, like Joby's, needs to meet operational tests—as a "gondola in the sky," flying at heights of up to 4,000 feet and at up to 140 miles an hour.

"We try to provide as much information as we can, and we very much believe in transparency, especially with the regulator, because that's how you build trust," Cindy Comer, Wisk's vice president of certification, told Newsweek.

Comer said that clarity and consistency from regulators like the FAA was one of the most important factors in the development of flying taxis, as any changes to policy affect years of design.

"It's really important that there is maintained consistency at the regulator. I think that is one of the biggest hurdles that our industry faces. Any time that you're in a space where there's new rule sets being written, we want to make sure that we're doing it safely," Comer said.

A common theme across all approaches is making the vertiport experience as streamlined as possible, removing the hassle of traditional airport check-ins while still maintaining safety.

What the Regulators Are Saying

The FAA's main role in the development of AAMs is to preserve that safety, particularly considering how much new technology is needed to launch air taxis.

"Our job is to ensure this new generation of air taxis maintains the high level of safety that defines commercial aviation today," a spokesperson for the FAA told Newsweek.

"We have the regulations in place that allow manufacturers to achieve our safety standards in innovative ways. We will be ready for air taxi operators when they are ready to fly safely."

For the FAA, the ideal state for AAMs is to serve as connections between other transport hubs like airports and busy urban areas that already have crowded transport systems, with the administration saying it is moving toward "dedicated corridors between major airports and vertiports in city centers."

What Happens Next

Exact timelines for the rollout of flying taxis are not yet established, though flight tests are now happening regularly in both the U.S. and the U.K., where Joby has a partnership with Virgin Atlantic to develop shuttle services from British airports.

Joby has said that it expects to reach the market first due to including a pilot in its designs. Wisk said that it is continuing to future-proof its autonomous approach with the FAA.

Correction 4/14/25, 7:02 a.m. ET: This article has been corrected to state that Wisk is not conducting tests in the U.K.